MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) - The United States is "absolutely not" giving Israel a green light to attack Iran, U.S. President Barack Obama told CNN Tuesday.

"We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East," Obama said, referring to Iran's nuclear ambitions.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appeared to leave the door open on Sunday for Israel to attack Iran if it saw fit.

"Israel can determine for itself - it's a sovereign nation - what's in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," Biden said on ABC's "This Week."

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) - A strong Russia is good for the United States, President Obama said Tuesday in a speech in Moscow, which he is visiting in an effort to "reset" the countries' relations.

Addressing an audience including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and graduates at a Moscow business school, Obama said Washington wants to work in partnership with a "strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia."

"This belief is rooted in our respect for the Russian people, and a shared history between our nations that goes beyond competition," he said.

On Monday, Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and concluded a series of agreements - including one on nuclear arms reduction - as part of an effort to strengthen ties between the former Cold War rivals.

The two-day summit in Moscow was needed to help "reset" a relationship that, according to Obama, "has suffered from a sense of drift" in recent years.

The president reiterated that in his speech Tuesday.

"This must be more than a fresh start between the Kremlin and the White House, though that is important. ... It must be a sustained effort among the American and Russian people to identify mutual interests, and to expand dialogue and cooperation that can pave the way to progress."

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) - Sarah Palin's not a quitter, she wants the public to know.

"I am not a quitter. I am a fighter," Palin told CNN on Monday while on a family fishing trip, on the heels of her Friday bombshell announcement that she was resigning as Alaska's governor.

Palin did her interview standing on the shores of Dillingham, Alaska, wearing hip waders. She granted 10-minute interviews to CNN and three other news networks Monday.

She resigned because of the tremendous pressure, time and financial burden of a litany of ethics complaints in the past several months, she said. The complaints were without merit and took away from the job she wanted to do for Alaskans, Palin said.

The decision to resign a year and a half before her term ends, and her rambling, often-disjointed resignation speech Friday, fueled days of debate among political analysts.

Speculation has run rampant that Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, will seek the presidency in 2012.

Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, abruptly announced Friday that she would leave office in late July. The decision to resign a year and a half before her term ends, and her rambling, often-disjointed resignation speech, have fueled days of debate among political analysts.

But Thomas Van Flein, Palin's personal lawyer, said no surprises await. The governor needed a break after being "on duty now for two and a half years solid," he said.

"There is no bombshell. There is no shoe to drop. There are no investigations of any type that I'm aware of - no IRS audit, no federal investigation, no state investigation," Van Flein told CNN. "There is no legal reason in terms of a legal problem that compelled the governor to resign."

Friday was "deliberately chosen" for the announcement because of its proximity to the July Fourth holiday, Van Flein said: "She declared her independence from politics as usual."

CNN: Palin says she is not a quitterSarah Palin's not a quitter, she wants the public to know. "I am not a quitter. I am a fighter," Palin told CNN on Monday while on a family fishing trip, on the heels of her Friday bombshell announcement that she was resigning as Alaska's governor.

CNN: South Carolina GOP votes to censure Sanford
After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for secretly traveling overseas to visit his mistress — but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

The South Carolina Republican Party formally reprimanded Mark Sanford on Monday.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) - After nearly four hours of deliberation and multiple rounds of balloting, the South Carolina Republican Party voted Monday night to censure Mark Sanford for secretly traveling overseas to visit his mistress - but stopped short of calling on the governor to resign.

Members of the state party's executive committee approved a resolution censuring Sanford for conduct that demonstrated "repeated failures to act in accordance" with the party's core principles and beliefs, according to GOP sources who were on the party conference call during the vote.

The resolution also reprimands the governor for "falling below the standards expected of Republican elected officials."

Although the resolution declares that Sanford "has breached the public's trust and confidence in his ability to effectively perform the duties of his office," it does not explicitly ask him to step down.

No sitting governor has ever been censured by the South Carolina Republican Party.

"We must hold true to our core beliefs and recommit to being Republican now more than ever before," party chairwoman Karen Floyd said in a statement. "And now is the time for healing for our great state."

Sanford's office released a statement shortly after the vote.

"The governor fully appreciates the party's position, and he intends to work diligently to earn back its trust," said Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer.